Dragonfly (2002)

7% of critics liked it
(124 reviews)
64% of users liked it
(52,801 ratings)

In this supernatural thriller, Kevin Costner plays Joe Darrow, a physician mourning the death of his wife Emily (Susannah Thompson) in a bus accident in South America, where she was providing medical outreach. Wracked by grief, Joe works extra shifts at the hospital to take his mind off the tragedy,… More In this supernatural thriller, Kevin Costner plays Joe Darrow, a physician mourning the death of his wife Emily (Susannah Thompson) in a bus accident in South America, where she was providing medical outreach. Wracked by grief, Joe works extra shifts at the hospital to take his mind off the tragedy, but the intense workload triggers his short temper and some careless mistakes. His officious boss (Joe Morton) forces Joe to take time off, but Joe feels obligated to check in on his wife's pediatric patients, fulfilling a promise he made before she left. Visiting the ward, Joe starts to believe that Emily is using the near-death experiences of her terminal patients to communicate with him, through images the children report seeing in their dreams, and symbols they are inexplicably compelled to draw. While the children see Joe as a kindred spirit, the hospital staff worries about how these interactions are agitating them. At home, Joe begins finding other ethereal evidence of his wife's attempt to contact him from beyond the grave, some of it featuring the image of a dragonfly, which was the shape of the birthmark on her shoulder. His friends and a caring neighbor (Kathy Bates) worry that Joe is losing his marbles, especially as his quest becomes more frantic, putting his job in jeopardy. ~ Derek Armstrong, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: PG-13, 1 hr. 43 min.
Directed By: Tom Shadyac
Written By: Mike Thompson, David Seltzer, Brandon Camp
Genres: Drama, Action & Adventure, Romance, Mystery & Suspense

In Theaters: Feb 22, 2002 Wide
On DVD: Jul 30, 2002
Studio: Universal Pictures

Critic Reviews

Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader
The undisputed king of the cornball concept, Kevin Costner has an uncanny aptitude for gravitating toward the dopiest projects in sight, but this time he's outdone himself.
Robert Denerstein, Denver Rocky Mountain News
More dull than offensive, Dragonfly keeps Costner on screen for nearly every scene, which pretty much compounds the movie's boredom quotient.
Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune
A sappy, often absurd disappointment.
Rex Reed, New York Observer
A numbingly pretentious project.
Joe Leydon, Variety
Chances are good that if you loved Ghost or Truly Madly Deeply, you'll at the very least like this fitfully affecting tale of love beyond death and faith beyond reason.
Curt Fields, Washington Post
If you're a Costner fan, you'll find Dragonfly mildly diverting, but otherwise you'll come away agreeing with the woman in the audience who said as the lights went up, 'That was so cheesy.'
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
Preposterously plotted, highly sentimental supernatural thrillers
Nell Minow, Common Sense Media
Boring, phony and a complete waste of talent.
Kit Bowen, Hollywood.com
Neither spooky nor otherworldly.
Michael Dequina, Film Threat
What Costner and everyone else is in constant danger of is spouting some awful dialogue.
Colin Kennedy, Empire Magazine
Boy, does the final reel stink.
, Time Out
The 'surprise' ending is as predictable as it is a long time coming.
Margaret A. McGurk, Cincinnati Enquirer
The screenplay credited to Brandon Camp, Mike Thompson and David Seltzer starts out with energy and substance, but reverts to time-filling repetition before it reaches the last-minute climax.
Michael Dequina, TheMovieReport.com
On the big screen, the film seemed Lifetime-cable ready; revisited on the small screen, it doesn't even pass muster on those less-than-lofty standards.
Andrew Rodgers, Zap2it.com
It's hard to take the weepy, oozing emotions of Kevin Costner's maudlin new film Dragonfly seriously.
Greg Maki, Star-Democrat (Easton, MD)
If you're not expecting the second coming of Alfred Hitchcock ... Dragonfly is an agreeable way to pass the time.
Kimberley Jones, Austin Chronicle
Costner's just a soggy slice of milquetoast here -- not bad, mind you, but not what you'd call a square meal, either.
Tom Grealis, RTE Interactive (Dublin, Ireland)
'Dragonfly' tries to gather momentum by dipping into the box of tricks marked 'Shyamalan'.
John R. McEwen, Film Quips Online
Gad-does anybody have a really big fly swatter?
Paul Malcolm, L.A. Weekly
Despite the film's aspirations to soul healing, its uplift remains mechanical, like an escalator's.

Read all 21 critic reviews

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

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Featured Audience Ratings

Red L

The movie is OK - not outstanding, just OK. It is frustrating as we see Joe (Costner) getting these supposed messages from his deceased wife, and we don't know if he is crazy or if he really is getting messages (which could also be construed as being crazy). Anyways Joe takes… More
The movie is OK - not outstanding, just OK. It is frustrating as we see Joe (Costner) getting these supposed messages from his deceased wife, and we don't know if he is crazy or if he really is getting messages (which could also be construed as being crazy). Anyways Joe takes off for Venezuela to try and find out what happened for himself.
Tim S

Pssh.
moon r

a very workable watchable film moving from modern chicagoland hospitals to the jungles of venezula, a tale of love that at first questions a doctor's sanity only to later prove to remarkably trancend the uncrossable divide, even death.
Emily A

I have really had it up to HERE with jump scares. My days of being impressed by loud sudden sounds are over, as is my capacity to appreciate this film. Dragonfly comes too close on the heels of The Mothman Prophecies to be considered novel, and too badly handles to be very… More
I have really had it up to HERE with jump scares. My days of being impressed by loud sudden sounds are over, as is my capacity to appreciate this film. Dragonfly comes too close on the heels of The Mothman Prophecies to be considered novel, and too badly handles to be very entertaining. The story itself was not half bad, but it would have sustained a short film better than a feature. This film gets extra points for the unique ending, though. I have to admit that I've never seen anything like it in horror.
Mason W

Dragonfly was a very unique film with Kevin Costner. Kevin plays a husband whom looses his wive in a foregin land. Costner starts to get messages from his dead wife and starts to have many odd experiences. This is a very interesting film to check out.
Lady D

Surprisingly a very good story, with sad parts. I'm quite shocked that this got a 12 certificate as I think there are a couple of bits in there for children that may seem a little eerie. A good original story.
Jason S

I liked it. The story was a little far fetched but the end was really good.
danny d

strange but it kept you watching to see where it was going the whole time
xGary X

Odd supernatural chiller that's typical in that it maintains interest as long you are trying to guess what's going on, and then are totally disappointed by the ridiculous and contrived ending. Passable enough entertainment though.
Deb S

Hollywood has always been fascinated with tales about dead people attempting to contact their grieving loved ones from beyond the grave and here Kevin Costner, plays Dr. Joe Darrow, a well-respected Chicago surgeon, who loses his wife in a sudden and tragic accident. Joe is grief… More
Hollywood has always been fascinated with tales about dead people attempting to contact their grieving loved ones from beyond the grave and here Kevin Costner, plays Dr. Joe Darrow, a well-respected Chicago surgeon, who loses his wife in a sudden and tragic accident. Joe is grief stricken and is trying to find closure by fulfilling a promise he made to his wife (also a doctor) to visit her patients who are children in the oncology ward in the same hospital. It is no surprise when strange paranormal events begin to happen, signs that Emily his dead wife (played by Susanna Thompson) is trying to reach him to tell him something important! Costner becomes obsessed with trying to discover why these events are occurring, in particular a strange symbol that appears in various guises. This may hold up as a love story, adhering to the idea that love conquers all, even death and Kevin Costner is quite believable as a distraught husband who has to piece together the clues his wife leaves him.
Nikki M

This was a well done tear jerker.